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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

When CITGO Asphalt and Refining Co. purchased a 70-year-old Savannah, GA, refinery in 1993, the company bought into an outdated and non-compliant facility with operational problems. In particular, the plant's 18-spot railcar loading station was not only inefficient and in need of continuous repair, it was unsafe and its location impeded truck-loading operations.

Keeping concrete floors clean, is always an important maintenance function. In nuclear power plants, however, this function is especially important because it helps stop the spread of radioactive particles generated during maintenance on systems containing radioactive contamination. These contaminants accumulate and spread in nuclear facilities in much the same way dirt and dust spread through other industrial plants.

Efficient production methods are slow to be accepted in Mexico, but surveys show that progress is being made.
The application of the so-called "Toyota Production System" began in America several years ago. It all started when the American automotive industry, in an effort to survive, decided to adopt the system developed by the Japanese.

Jobs are on the rise in Mexico, but according to a recent study, worker earnings and benefits still lag behind.
The following summarizes portions of a recent study undertaken by the International Labor Organization (ILO) concerning the evolution, problems and challenges of the job market in Mexico.

As the strongest sector of the Mexican economy, manufacturing is well-positioned to grow under the country's new, pro-business leadership. Forecasts suggest, however, that progress hinges on an upswing in the U.S. economy
In recent years, Mexico's manufacturing industry has made significant progress.

Identifying and classifying hazardous materials for shipment over the nation's roads can be tricky business. One mistake can create risks throughout the chain of custody, from loading dock to transporter, increasing the potential for the wrong response to an incident, not to mention the chance for penalties or fines.

The process of storing large volumes of liquid VOC's (volatile organic compounds) in storage tanks requires a complex operation. Numerous pressure controls and emergency pressure relief vents are included in the vapor control system. Filling and draining the tanks changes the gas pressure above the liquids as do changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature, especially when the tanks are located above ground.

Alaska Diesel Electric, Inc., is a Seattle-WA-based manufacturer of marine generator sets and propulsion engines. The company's business is 50% building new electrical generation systems for fishing vessels, and 50% retrofitting or repairing existing systems. The market it serves places a heavy burden on the company because shipboard electrical systems must be reliable.

Lightning strikes the Earth 100 times each second. A bolt of lightning can reach a temperature of 50,000 degrees F, about five times hotter than the surface of the sun. Damage as a result of lightning costs millions of dollars each year. It can knock out a plant's electronics, alter computer memory, ignite forest fires and cause injuries or death.

Once plagued by error-prone production, worker apathy and dwindling profits, this Dallas-based label maker turned around with a vengeance after almost losing its largest customer a decade ago. Here's how the company went on to win multiple awards, including the Malcolm Baldrige in 1998, and continues to raise the bar for itself.

The Japanese term for 'continuous improvement' has come to represent a new culture for many U.S. manufacturers, as well as a new opportunity to compete.
'Kaizen' - the term may send at least a subliminal shiver up the spines of those of a certain generation. Japanese for "continuous improvement," the term is usually applied to manufacturing processes.

Proctor and Gamble, Inc. (P&G), is one of the world's most successful manufacturers of consumer goods, with processing operations in more than 70 countries. Its products, including those in beauty care, food, beverage, health care, laundry and cleaning markets, are sold in more than 140 countries.
P&G's Iowa City, IA, plant, which produces shampoo, conditioner and mouthwash, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Our goal is to predict bearing failure before it adversely affects the quality of our product," says Jackie Walker, a 17-year veteran and associate supervisor, preventive maintenance, at the Belden Electronics division in Tomkinsville, KY. "Ultrasonics technology in conjunction with vibration analysis are the troubleshooting tools we use to help us achieve this goal.

The science has produced volumes of information about workers, productivity, behavior, motivation and other issues. Here's a look at the effect it has had and continues to have on industrial human relations.
In 1945 there were a grand total of 130 participants in a newly-formed division of the Washington, D.

The push for supply chain efficiency has driven changes in over-the-road trucks and how they're loaded. The changes have a direct impact at the loading dock - an essential yet often overlooked link in the supply chain. Innovative dock design and properly applied equipment can help companies keep material flowing smoothly across their docks, keeping production lines supplied and ensuring reliable deliveries.

In the metal stamping industry, one of the most critical operations is the removal of post-production scrap metal from the die. Scrap metal that is not removed can affect part quality and ruin the die, costing companies valuable resources to repair or replace dies. In the past, metal-stamping companies removed scrap by pushing it out of the way with a broom, a laborious, tedious process.

"For more than 19 years we have been using motorized pulleys to drive a rotating brush on our Automatic Defect Removal (ADR&reg) system" says Pete Smith, a product manager for Key Technology, Inc., Walla Walla, WA. A leading manufacturer of process automation and electro-optical inspection systems for the food-processing and pharmaceutical industries, Key Technology makes the ADR&reg 4, a unit that detects and eliminates blemished areas from raw potato strips, improving quality for makers of frozen french-fried potatoes.